1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus and method, as well as a program, and more specifically to an information processing apparatus and method, as well as a program in which performing power-saving control of the information processing apparatus which keeps a power device from having to be made larger and which can be inherited and standardized easily is made possible.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, CPUs (Central Processing Units) with a high frequency, and relatively high power consumption are becoming popular. Power devices of information processing apparatuses in which such CPUs are used are designed to meet the power supplying performance demanded in accordance with the increasing power consumption, and tend to be larger and more costly. In other words, a power device is designed taking the maximum amount of power consumption when all of the CPU, other chips, built-in drives, devices that may be connected to external device connector terminals, and the like are operating to their fullest capacity into consideration.
On the other hand, measures for decreasing power consumption by information apparatuses have been devised. Such measures include, for example, detecting when the apparatus is operating on batteries and altering the operation mode of the CPU to lengthen the operation time, or adjusting the backlight of an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) to decrease power consumption. Another example is where the temperature of the CPU is detected, and when it exceeds a predetermined temperature, the operation mode of the CPU is altered, thereby preventing the CPU from being destroyed or from running out of control due to its own heat, and thus ultimately lowering power consumption (see, for example, patent document 1).
[Patent Document 1]
Japanese International Application Publication No. 2002-269272.